He said the filing was necessary to effect the stipulated order signed on July 29, 2008.
CUC and the CNMI government have already signed a settlement agreement with the EPA, he added.
The settlement agreement will bring CUC in compliance with the Clean Water Act so it can better manage its wastewater plants and collection system, the public drinking water system, power plants and oil transfer pipeline, Muna said.
Compliance is “now in progress,” he said, and will take time to be completed.
Muna said the timetable of compliance varies — in the case of the wastewater treatment in Kagman and Tinian, it may take one year.
The process, he added, is about making a plan and acquiring personnel with certain qualifications which cannot be done in one day.
Although CUC’s financial constraint may affect its ability to comply with the stipulated order, Muna said they may increase their rates, ask for additional legislative funding, float bonds or borrowing money.
The EPA said CUC has a long history of violating drinking water regulations on Saipan, Rota and Tinian, which include exceeding safe levels for total coliform bacteria.
CUC also failed to take required water samples for nitrates, complete monitoring for lead and copper, and provide the public with adequate notices regarding these violations, the EPA said.
Muna said when he assumed his CUC post there was already a problem in the delivery of chlorine to Rota and Tinian, but, he added, this has been addressed already.
